Really?

[lucznik]

I suppose I'll take the "quiz."

1 raised a garden- Yes. I haven't for a few years but, I sure enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables when I did. I should get back into that...
2 raised and butchered animals- Raised - No. Butchered - Yes, all the time. We do all our own butchering in my family.
3 built a building- Not by myself, but I have assisted in some carpentry jobs.
4 preserved food- I smoke meats all the time. I have done a fair amount of dehydrating. I have not canned or bottled anything, yet.
5 can work on their own stuff- Depends on what you mean. I make a lot of my own leather gear. While no tailor, I can do basic sewing. I'm no mechanic, but I've fixed my own (and others') vehicles on occasion. I'm no plumber, but I've repaired my sinks, toilets, and replaced some of my own pipes. So, I guess I can work on my own stuff...
6 hunt on a regular basis- At every possible moment. Probably a great deal more often than most people. That's one of the perks of living where I do.
7 gather edibles on a regular basis- Not a lot of edibles to gather here. I do need to learn more about this skill. Any suggestions on a guide to high Rocky Mountain edible plants (meaning above 7000 feet).
8 are proficient with a firearm- I'm no sniper, nor am I part of the "tacticool" crowd, but I kill plenty o' stuff every year and eat very well as a result. I guess that counts as "proficiency."
9 can start a fire in the wood stove with just kindling and a match- Able to - yes. However, I prefer other methods to matches.
10 can read a compass and a topo- Can't everyone?

[DOGMAN]

I am pretty well versed on all these things...but could be better, there is always room for improvement. I would add to this list First Aid skills...I think anyone serious about survival should have at least Wilderness First Aid....or something equivalent

1 raised a garden...Yes, I lived on an Organic Farm and goat dairy for a few years traded labor for my keep - (average gardening skills)

2 raised and butchered animals... yes, from goats to poultry...I am a good butcher (above average/good animal husbandry and butchering skills)

3 built a building- built a straw bale cabin in college and lived in it...also have built a log cabin...don't know much about electricity or modern plumbing, but I can get by (Average building skills)

4 preserved food...yes, I can make jerky, can, and smoke meats...I would like to get better at this, I grew up doing it, and my in-laws practice it dilligently...so I see it alot, am around it alot, however, i don't do it every year (novice preserver overall)

5 can work on their own stuff- depends what it is...my new F350 diseal...not so much, my ATV and snowmachine and house yes....(average/basic mechanical skills)

6 hunt on a regular basis...yes been hunting my whole life- hunting guide for many years...(excellent hunting skills)

7 gather edibles on a regular basis...yes, in summer and fall I know alot of edibles in my area...winter not so much...i gather lots of shrooms, and berries- (above average/good gathering skills)

8 are proficient with a firearm...yes really well practiced with rifle and shotgun...not too much pistol shooting- (excellent shooting skills)

9 can start a fire in the wood stove with just kindling and a match...yes and start a fire with a bow drill and a host of other ways- (excellent fire building skills)

10 can read a compass and a topo - like the back of my hand- (excellent navigation skills)

This is kind of a neat quiz, because it makes you analyze your experiences and skill set...great post!

[klickitat]

The check list wasn't meant as a what can you do list. It was meant as a reality check. If you can not do these basic things, then you will not make it past rural survival and you can forget about wilderness survival. It was also meant as a gauge to hold against some of the people who answer wilderness survival questions. If they can not survive rural life, why would you listen to something they had to offer about wilderness survival?

[Alaskan Survivalist]

"A wise man will learn more from a fool than a fool will learn from a wise man"

[mountain1]

i hear excatly what you are saying about some other places(fourms)...whew...what a mess.
we all can learn something new everyday though. that's my philosophy anyway.

[klickitat]

"A wise man will learn more from a fool than a fool will learn from a wise man"

That is so funny. To this day I still remember what my Dad to me when I left the house after graduation. "Boy remember to learn something form everyone you meet, even if all it is, is what NOT to do."

[rwc1969]

...You have to stop and ask yourself, How many of these members on these forums have:

1 raised a garden
2 raised and butchered animals
3 built a building
4 preserved food
5 can work on their own stuff
6 hunt on a regular basis
7 gather edibles on a regular basis
8 are proficient with a firearm
9 can start a fire in the wood stove with just kindling and a match
10 can read a compass and a topo

...
Sourdough says it best when he says; "Boots in the field"... I would also suggest a little caution and a whole lot of discretion when reading answers to questions on the internet.

I agree!

1. yes
2. yes, or at least helped. I know enough to know there's much more to raising animals than most realize.
3. Never built an entire building, but have built or re-built most parts thereof at one point or another in my life. I'm sure I could finger it out.
4. yes, but I would like to preserve more, especially by canning.
5. I'm the only one that I can afford to pay, so yes.
6, 7 and 8. yes, very much so. I'm pretty accurate with rocks, sticks, spears, slingshots, bows and arrows and just about anything else too, not bragging of course.
9. I haven't owned a match in probably 20 years, but I can start fire with a rope so I'll call it good enough.
10. Define read! I can navigate and even determine likely habitats, flora, and fauna based on topo features.


Just because there's bogus info on the net doesn't mean there's no good info. I've encountered know it alls, yahoos, and people that simply have no clue and spread rumors in all walks of life from the corporate world of white collar, to college, high school and elementary teachers, to the factories, construction sites, businesses and residences, on to the playground and in the bars and libraries. I've seen it in highly respected "factual" books and on proprtedly accurate TV and cable shows.

The one thing I didn't see on that list was common sense and good judgement of character. I've got both of those so I can weed thru the BS and figure out for myself what is right and who is wrong.

[klickitat]

I did not put those in the list but thought I cover that in the last line.

[Winter]

Being the internet, we could all just be lying. Thought I'd throw that out there.

[mountain1]

there is nothing i hate more than a liar and a thief. i guess their one in the same.

[Alaskan Survivalist]

Who would believe the truth?

[mountain1]

honest people.

[Alaskan Survivalist]

We'll see. I hear so many talk about how great they can shoot at long distances without ever demonstrating the knowledge to do it. I'm going to start a thread on the subject and see what happens.

[Sarge47]

I disagree with the op of this thread. 1st, nobody can predict what might constitute a survival situation. It may not be a "rural situation" but an "urban" one. Next you didn't list any medical/1st aid knowledge on your list. Why do people tend to think that no matter what happens that they're going to come through it all right while no one else is? What if your house has been hit by a tornado and you wake up to find your wife dead, your kids gone, and you have two broken legs? How does all that other knowledge help you?

2nd, it's "The will to live" that separates the "wheat from the chaff;" not how well you can do stuff. History has shown that over & over again. On every survival forum out there, including this one, there are many unrealistic views. Ken & I were talking on the phone last night & he said that if he had been placed in the middle of a survival situation while he was stove up with those kidney stones he'd be dead right now! As someone who also suffers from kidney stones I know exactly what he's talking about. What about someone who's diabetic & has to take insulin on a regular basis? What if they have congestive heart failure? It's not all a young man's game.

3rd, how do you know where you might be when a survival situation comes up? What if you're lost at sea, how does that list help? How would you start a fire? Use a topo map? Hunt game? etc..

4th, Why do some people tend to think that being a great shot can prevent them from getting a bullet in the back of the head? Having a great deal of knowledge does not make one bullet-proof!

[BENESSE]

All great points, Sarge.
Just when you think you've mastered one thing (if that's even possible) there are 10 you haven't even thought about.
If we're smart, the quest never ends 'til the day we die.

[BENESSE]

One thing I've tried to get across throughout my postings is how fundamental good health and fitness are (physical and mental) in any survival scenario. Without it, everything else is a house of cards--much like building a house on a weak and shaky foundation. It might stand when all's well, lull you into a false sense of security. But remember, you're prepping for TSHTF. Does your "foundation" match the rest of the structure?

[roar-k]

Wait. What? You gave Crash food? I do hope you realize under the new V4.1.1 vBulletin just loaded that when you send food to one mod you have to send food to all mods. It's in the rules.

Yes, he got 3 jars of some of my canned goods. Although I cannot remember if I gave him the Mild or Extremely hot salsa. As for the pepper jelly, some like it some don't.

[roar-k]

Not true at all. I've been having a tablespoon of the freezer jelly every morning on my toast at breakfast. Pepper jelly is after that. Saving the salsa for the Super Bowl.

I got an offer for you crash and if you want to take it up you can. If you ever want some more of any of those 3 send the jar(s) back to me and tell me whichever you want another fill of and I will send it to you.

[klickitat]

I disagree with the op of this thread. 1st, nobody can predict what might constitute a survival situation. It may not be a "rural situation" but an "urban" one. Next you didn't list any medical/1st aid knowledge on your list. Why do people tend to think that no matter what happens that they're going to come through it all right while no one else is? What if your house has been hit by a tornado and you wake up to find your wife dead, your kids gone, and you have two broken legs? How does all that other knowledge help you?

2nd, it's "The will to live" that separates the "wheat from the chaff;" not how well you can do stuff. History has shown that over & over again. On every survival forum out there, including this one, there are many unrealistic views. Ken & I were talking on the phone last night & he said that if he had been placed in the middle of a survival situation while he was stove up with those kidney stones he'd be dead right now! As someone who also suffers from kidney stones I know exactly what he's talking about. What about someone who's diabetic & has to take insulin on a regular basis? What if they have congestive heart failure? It's not all a young man's game.

3rd, how do you know where you might be when a survival situation comes up? What if you're lost at sea, how does that list help? How would you start a fire? Use a topo map? Hunt game? etc..

4th, Why do some people tend to think that being a great shot can prevent them from getting a bullet in the back of the head? Having a great deal of knowledge does not make one bullet-proof!

You disagree because you did not comprehend what was written or you just did not take the time to read it. Is this not a WILDERNESS SURVIVAL site? Just so that you are clear, the OP was really a caution to people to pay attention to the person writing a reply. There is a lot of crap that gets spewed out and if a person tries to call certain people on it, they are chastised for hurting some poor persons feelings. The list was a comment about basic rural life and was used as a counter point for those who are thinking of running to the hills. There is no need to be offended by any of my comments. While I was on my break I ran around looking at other forums and just noticed that there are a lot of goof balls out there. This site has a handful too just not near as many as some sites. I have a website that I run and we run off the idiots in a quick hurry. We do not have the biggest site of it's kind, but we do not have the intolerable idiots either.

[kyratshooter]

I must agree with the OP, there is a distinct shortage of useful information out there right now. The number of forums has decreased in the past year and the quality of those that remain is dissapointing. Most, as noted, are more wishful thinking and speculation than fact or they are instruction manuals for running and gunning/shoot'em and loot 'em. The basic attitude is that of a stray dog: If you can't eat it or f$%& it, then shoot it.

One of my common notations is the number of people with an imaginary Bug Out Location. They can not do anything on the list, they have nowhere to go, but they have a BOB, a half tank of gas and 5,000 rounds of 7.62 for their AK.

As for the "list", it is good for certain areas and specific conditions. Everyone should know those things, and everyone did just a few years back. But there needs to be more learning than the list.

What knowledge makes you special? What makes you a contributing member of a group, doing something besides contract murder or looking pretty? Med skills, mechanical knowledge, blacksmithing, large scale carpentry, makeshift cartridge reloading, giving a kid an education from K-12, counceling and spiritual guidence (pastors were in big demand on the early frontier; weddings, funerals, grief assistance. Daniel Boones' brother was an ordained pastor.)

You do not know what the situation will be, true, but there are universal skills that have been discarded in the past 50 years. We need those back and some more. My garden does not look like grandad's garden. My livestock is not what grandad raised. My car is not even tuned up like his was.

The main difference I see between this forum and some of the useless dribble on the internet is that the people here have lived through some rough crap. No matter what direction the ball falls they will have had some experience inthat area, and will be quick to add more.